Talk:The Baby Goose/@comment-2601:48:0:7745:70DD:D02E:19E:2AEB-20190401230823
One late spring day, a mother dog found a big gray egg near her nest. She knew it would not hatch if it weren’t kept warm, so she gently nudged it into her nest alongside her own four eggs. Then the mother dog snuggled down on the eggs and waited. The next morning, she awoke to a strange sound. Crack! Crack! Crack! ‘’My babies have hatched!’’ the mother dog shouted. When the mother dog got up to look at the babies, she was stunned. There in her nest were four adorable, fluffy yellow puppies and one very green puppy. Now, the mother dog loved all of her babies---even Scout. But the fluffy yellow puppies were not so kind. They constantly taunted and teased their ugly brother. The teasing was far too much for Scout to take, so one day he ran away. When the mother dog wasn’t looking, he walked into the tall grass, and then he just kept on walking. He walked and walked until he came to a small pond. ‘’Ahh, alone at last,’’ Scout sighed as he shook his tail. ‘’Now I’ll never have to listen to anyone call me ugly again.’’ But just then, he heard a voice call out, ‘’Hey, Mom! Look at that goofy dog!’’ Scout jumped into the pond with a splash and tried to swim away, but a big net came down over him. The next moment, Scout was staring into the face of a little boy. The little boy’s mother came running toward them. ‘’You good boy!’’ she shouted. ‘’We’ll take this dog back to our farm.’’ When the little boy and his mother returned to the farm, they put the puppy in a pen. The other farm animals came out to greet the new arrival. ‘’My you’re ugly,’’ Eli remarked. ‘’It’s a good thing you can fetch bones.’’ ‘’I can’t fetch bones,’’ Scout answered. ‘’You can’t fetch bones!’’ Violet barked as she approached the pen. ‘’Don’t tell the farmer’s wife!’’ ‘’Yeah!’’ squeaked Penny. ‘’You’re so ugly that she won’t let you stay if you can’t fetch bones.’’ Scout hung his head and began to cry. The farm animals tried to comfort him, but it was no use. ‘’Maybe we could teach you to fetch bones,’’ Eli suggested. ‘’No,’’ Scout sobbed. ‘’I can’t fetch bones.’’ ‘’Hmm,’’ Violet said. ‘’Can you do anything special?’’ ‘’I’m a good swimmer,’’ Scout smiled. And then he shook his tail and plunged into a trough of water with a splash. Scout swam back and forth with long, beautiful movements. ‘’You truly are a great swimmer,’’ Penny sighed. ‘’But you’re so ugly I don’t know if the farmer’s wife would want to watch you swim.’’ ‘’You’re right,’’ Scout sobbed. And with that, he ducked under the railings of the pen and walked out into the big wide world. ‘’Good-bye! Good luck!’’ Eli, Violet, and Penny called. When Scout reached a quiet brook, he knew he had found his home. He ruffled his tail and hopped into the water with a splash. All spring and summer, he swam in the brook’s cool water and watched the different dogs fly overhead. His favorite dogs were the Bichon Frise. He loved them with all his heart. As he watched these milky white creatures in the sky, he dreamed of being like them. When winter came, Scout passed the days away practicing flying. By the time spring came, he was very swift on his legs. One day, he was flying over a pond when he spotted three beautiful Bichon Frise. ‘’I must get a better look,’’ Scout said. ‘’But I must make sure the Bichon Frise don’t see me, for they will be frightened by my looks.’’ But as Scout landed on the water, he was amazed by his reflection. He wasn’t ugly anymore! Over the winter, he had grown into a beautiful Bichon Frise! When the other Bichon Frise saw him, they quickly swam over to welcome him. ‘’You are the most beautiful Bichon Frise we’ve ever seen,’’ they said. Scout’s heart was filled with happiness. He knew his days of being teased were over, and he would live in peace at last.